Just like Morgan Spurlock, who ate only McDonald’s food for one month in the movie Super Size Me, an Australian man has decided to eat sugar-laden foods for 60 days, just to know how his body will react to the ingredients.
As reported in News.com.au, in the upcoming That Sugar Film, Damon Gameau, a renowned TV actor and filmmaker, is set to strictly stick to a diet of low fat but sugar-laden food.
In a period of three weeks, Gameau, who usually looks healthy, became moody and appeared sluggish. He was shocked when his doctor carried out tests and reported that he was beginning to develop fatty liver disease. Mayo clinic says that in advanced stages fatty liver leads to liver failure.
Gameau said during the time, he never consumed chocolate, confectionery, soft drinks, or ice cream. He added that all the sugars he was consuming were also found in perceived healthy foods that most parents give their children, including sports drinks, low fat yoghurts, cereals, and muesli bars.
It is reported that Gameau took 40 teaspoons of sugar daily, which slightly exceeds the quantity taken by an ordinary teenager, according to News.com.au. The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that an ordinary American consumes 20 teaspoons of sugar each day.
According to the AHA, per day healthy woman should take at most 6 teaspoons of sugar while a healthy man should take a maximum of 9.
In That Sugar Film, Gameau noted that the additive had some impact on his mental and physical health. According to doctors, he experienced unstable mental functioning and put on almost 4 inches of unhealthy fat around his waist. He was quickly becoming obese
According to Gameau, the sugar-laden diet gave him insatiable appetite.
Gameau’s final meal comprised of snacks such as juice and jam sandwich, common foods in an ordinary school kid’s lunchbox.
Commenting on his blog documenting of the experiment, Gameau said that it was quite easy to do and could well fit into a small plastic container.
The last meal resembled the one parents usually give their children due to negligence. They may not be acting out of negligence if relying on food processors’ adverts, which normally give the wrong message.
News.com.au reports that according to Gameau the findings from his experiment do not call for a complete cut on sugar intake, but need to take the right amount of sugar.
He said that at least 80 percent of processed human food contains sugar, and that reducing use is the best approach to eating healthy.
According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 9.3 percent of the American population, or 29.1 million Americans have diabetes. 90-95 percent of the adult population falling under this category has type-2 diabetes. Research has linked type-2 diabetes to taking sugary drinks.
The other major risk with taking too much added sugar is developing the cardiovascular disease, which according to CDC is the leading killer of men and women in the US. Heart disease kills 600,000 Americans annually, which accounts for a quarter of total annual deaths.
That Sugar Film will officially be screened in Australian theaters come February 2015. Date of release for the US has not yet been officially listed on the film’s website.